Stockholm

London is getting colder by the day. You know what the smart thing to do is? Go to Stockholm. Yeah, cos you know, it's not going to be colder there...... errrrr

Checking the weather report and seeing a low of 2 degrees with a max of 7 was not encouraging. I could feel the chill in my bones and I wanted to cry. Luckily for us, the weather turned and it ended up being quite pleasant while London suffered rain.

Kt, J, SuBoo, Honda, Munabuna and I all met at Liverpool St station after work to board our train to to Stansted Airport. Here are some horrible photos of us on the train.

Given that Munabuna booked the wrong arrival airport (mental note: arrive at Arlanda and not Skavsta), we had to take an 80 minute bus ride into central Stockholm rather than a 20 minute express train. EIGHTY MINUTES. We didn't get into our hotel until about 11pm and we were all starving. Given that it was fairly late and we really didn't know where we were, we wandered the streets foraging for food. Ok, it wasn't quite that bad, but we didn't really want to eat McDonalds, hot dogs or TGIFs. Luckily we found a small cafe that was about to shut and ate there. I did take photos but they aren't very exciting, hence no posting.

The next day, we all visited the Vasa Viking Ship Museum. Ok, that doesn't sound all that interesting but think about it. This is a viking ship from the 1600s and it is the only one of it's kind. Like, wow. Think about it. Yeah. Think about it real hard. Ok, so I'm a geek who appreciates these kinds of things.

The museum isn't large but we managed to lose Kt for about an hour or so. A few of us watched the movie on why it sank. I am sorry but even though I'm a nerd, it was so frigging boring, I nearly fell asleep. Once we found Kt, she was exclaimed "Wtf?! Where have you guys been? How can you NOT have seen this entire museum yet!?" So we forced her to tour the museum again. Hehe.

These pictures were painstakingly difficult to take as it was actually very dark indoors.

J joining the medieval Swedish maid.

So how did the Vasa ship sink? The wind blew and it fell over. No sarcasm here. Ok, there was a bit more to the story. The wind made it sway and water filled in via the gun ports. So much for Swedish design.

Starving as we left the museum, we made a pit stop for hot dogs. Must take sausage photos with Kt milking, milking the tomato sauce from it's dispenser.

Next on the tourist list was the Skansen outdoor museum, a somewhat lame Sovereign Hill-esque recreation of a traditional Swedish town. Except that I didn't see any traditional Swedes walking around and all the houses were locked. Given the cold climate and grey skies, it resembled a ghost town. I'm sure it's nicer in the Summer and it's a great place to take your 2 - 7 year old. Not really a place for people pushing their (eek!) 30s. There was also a funpark there (closed) and a zoo with some very active animals, which compensated for the rest of the park. No siree, no sleepy animals here.

Clockwise from top left: A wolf. Some Swedish animal which I have never seen in my life and have no idea what it is, probably similar to a badger. A very happy, lazy seal. The three bears - who were very funny and kept wrestling with each other.

I also insisted we see the reindeer. Can you believe that Kt had always thought reindeer were imaginary animals? WTF. Rudolph got his revenge when he charged from the shelter and made her freak out. Hahahaha. The look on her face was priceless.

By now, it was about 2pm and we were starving once more. We headed back into the city cetnre for a cheap eat at the Ostermalms Saluhall. I do have to say, while it wasn't all that large a food hall (but big enough) this was my food highlight. It was like a huge deli with the option of having some of the ready-made food nuked in the microwave for you. Of course, when in Sweden, eat as the Swedes do, so here is my Elk and reindeer meat:

Elk casserole with mash and Rudolph mixed with horseradish. Tasty! No distinctive or horrible aftertaste. Sweet revenge for Kt with the Rudolph meat.

After a bit of rest we all prepared for a dinner out. Being the unresearched tourists that we were, none of us really knew where to go. This is where the story of Michael BoyBand *sigh* begins. With 7pm looming and no idea where to eat, Kt and I approached the reception desk to ask for a recommendation. The nice guy at the desk also recommended us a bar to go to and booked our dinner reservation for us. (Ok, ok, so it's his job to do that). While from first impression, he wasn't anything overly special in the physical sense, we did find him extremely helpful and the more Kt and I looked at him, the better he got HAHAhahahahaha. See? Being nice helps.

We both walked away from desk saying 'hey, he was cute' - girlish giggles followed. I said 'yeah, he's got that Boy Band look about him'. He wasn't a typical blonde Swede, but rather with dark hair and fair features. We pointed him out to J and SuBoo who didn't think much of him which upset both Kt and I. ANYWAY, off we went to dinner.

Us girls in the hotel lounge before leaving.

Dinner was on the Old Town Gamla Stan island and we wandered around a bit and had a tipple before finally getting to the restaurant.

Oh look! It's the Bao Bab Store!

Dinner was at Fem Sma Hus, a traditional Swedish restaurant. I do have to ask the question - what the hell is Swedish food anyway? They can't eat Ikea meatballs all the time. I figured out it's a lot of herring, dill, seafood and Santa's sleigh runners. I still can't determine if eating Santa's helpers is the equivalent of eating kangaroo at home. In other words, people don't really do it.

Top to bottom: The entrance to Fem Sma Hus. J doing her best batwoman. Kt being a mum. The rest of the table.

Given that I'd had my fair share of antler-meat, I opted for some fish.

After dinner, we headed back to the main town and walked past the suggested 'bar', which was more like a large lounge/club. There was a queue outside which was encouraging but we decided not worth the wait. And it was clearly a beautiful crowd and here we were, standing in our scarf, hats, puffy jackets, while the Swedes pretended it wasn't cold. In the end, J and I were pooped and went back to the hotel, while the others partied on in an 80s bar.

Personally, I woke up the next morning exhausted. Kt nearly had to pull off my blankets. Luckily she took note of my warning that if she did that, I would totally crack the shits.

Our second day in Stockholm was 'take the Stockholm cruise' day. Ignorant me didn't know that Stockholm is a collection of several islands. Again, being dumbasses, we didn't know where to catch a ferry. Kt and I figured that Boyband Guy worked last night and would not be on shift today. So imagine our glee to see him at the desk *ROFL*. By now, Kt was getting offended that I kept referring him to Boyband Guy. She insisted "He has a name, you know!" "Fine, he's now Michael Boyband". Michael of course, being the name on his tag.

After realising we really didn't have any idea, I took the map and said "I'm gonna go ask Boyband Guy". For anyone who knows Kt will know that she doesn't believe in the gym. But upon her ears pricking up, she leaped out of the chair like a superhero, "I'm coming too!". So there we were, me with a huge map in hand, giggling and running to desk together. We saw a gap at the desk but two people - Michael Boyband and a girl. Uh-oh. Yippee for us when MBB offered his help to two grinning idiots. He circled the dock our map *sigh*. After we left the desk, we both said "I wanted to tell him that he gave us a good recommendation last night". Cue the girlish glee.

Alright, enough. Here's some stuff about the cruise.

Munabuna & SuBoo surround J with a Swedish rum ball covered in pistachio something or other. I'm not even sure it's Swedish but we kept seeing it everywhere.

I was SO happy to walk past a souvenir store with viking hats. If I didn't take this photo, I would regret it for life. Look, a hat with horns! And a reindeer!! Yay for cheesy tourist shots!

Erm, I did take a few photos of us on the cruise but none were good. It was a 1 hour 50 minute boat ride and I was quite glad to see it come to an end. It was interesting but the soothing waves made me very sleepy indeed.

The view of the Vasa Museum from the cruise.

The rest of the day was spent on the Old Town Island, trying to do enough touristy stuff to justify our Stockholm tourist card purchase. We saw the Crown Jewels, visited the Nobel Prize Museum (very small) and Jade and I had Swedish soft serve with a jam or something like that.

We had a quick afternoon meal in a cafe which had the oldest city wall. Then a romp around the Old Town to search for a cannon embedded in the footpath and cannon balls stuck in buildings. It was quite silly as we had walked past this cannon a billion times and not realised what it was.

The view of Stockholm on the way back to the main city centre from the Old Town. Aaah tranquil.

Walking back to the hotel, Kt and I were discussing how MBB wouldn't be at the hotel upon our return. He started in the morning as early as 9.30am and it was nearing 6.30pm. A long shift indeed. We had settled in the idea that we wouldn't see him again. Imagine our glee as we looked through the window to see him at the desk! As I walked through the revolving doors, I looked behind only to see Kt in a fit of giggles. *grin* I insisted that we take a photo with MBB before our departure which Kt flatly declined. To this day, I regret not forcing her. Dammit!! He will live on in our memories, she insists. Hmmph!

Stockholm was definitely quieter than London (what city isn't?) and it would be quite a nice place to visit in the Summer. Hmmm, so what else did I discover in Stockholm? Kt likes to sleep a lot.

Clockwise top left: Kt upon our arrival in the hotel. Kt in bed after our Friday night munchies. Katie and I on the cruise - such an intelligent conversation we had. Finally my view of Kt on the cruise - ooh, watch the dribble.

Hai Droo Poo

Another day, another visitor from the antipodeans. We do invade the British Isles don't we? Dru-poo was on his return leg from his travels in the rest of Europe and going back Australia tomorrow. I haven't seen him in over a year (!?!?!).

No more fretting DP! L-poo will be back soon. Meanwhile, I'll look after her for you!

Unfortunately, I had to leave drinks early in time for Kt's official birthday dinner at London Bridge. Umm I didn't take photos cos I decided not be photo-mad that night.

Kt's Birthday Drinkies

Tis the season for birthdays and now was time for the Grand Empress' celebrations. A surprise dinner was planned and hats off to everyone in executing it. It was an extremely difficult affair as Kt wanted to organise dinner for herself and it took a lot of 'I'm busy that night' to finally get her to settle for booking a lounge rather than a restaurant.

I got to the restaurant about 6.15pm for a 6.45pm surprise and was a little bewildered to find that I was the first person there. At 6.30pm I was getting a bit antsy but then Alisha arrived. At 6.40pm we thought a little better and asked the staff if there was another party on. We were then taken upstairs where everyone else was. I was kinda pissed off with that kerfuffle. Luckily Kt had not arrived and we hadn't ruined the goal of the night.

Kt's Cupcake Birthday Cake. Lovingly made by J, Baoey and Lil Miss J. The letters were melting, hence the "Happy" on the baking paper.

Ooooh yummy. Crushed maltesers.

We insisted that everyone take a photo with a cupcake.

Drinks were then at Bar Red. Nothing embarrassing happened and I didn't post up too many photos here cos there are plenty on Facebook.

Baoey and I doing her 'disgusting face' but morphing it with our 'cute' pose. Can someone please punch me in the face? All the girls at Bar Red.

Overall, a lovely night out and Kt, I hope you had fun on your birthday babe!

Happy Birthday Lymbo

Just a blog to wish Lymbo a happy birthday! By the time this post goes up (I'm well behind in blogging) it'll probably be a month too late. But here's a cake I baked for you.

Book Review: Freakonomics

Given my recent (cough) "career change", one would think that I should have a pointed interest in matters of the financial nature. Hmmmmmmm....well, hmmmmmmmmmmm, look that stuff really doesn't tickle my fancy.

This is where Freakonomics comes to the rescue. Economics for the masses. Or more correctly, economics for the uninterested folk like me. Which errmmm I guess is the masses.

The basic gist of the book applies the principles of economics to establish a relationship between things that would be seemingly unrelated otherwise. I won't bother listing the questions they ask, if you really want to know, go to the Wiki entry.

I do like the quirkiness of it all. I like how the book wasn't filled with numbers and statistics; just simple explanations to draw conclusions from the most bizarre questions. I also do like how they use economics to undermine common anxieties, highlighting how stupid we all really can be and succumbing to fear mongering and scare tactics.

Whilst I don't doubt that Freakonomics has it's critics, I was rather disappointed that this book had come to an end. I really did want it to be longer! Even if this book was full of lies, I would still find it engaging and enjoyable.

Ok, enough praise, here's the verdict. Do remember it is very hard to get a 5 with my grading scale.

Quality of Content: 4 - 4.5
Readability: 4
Would I recommend this book: Duh, yes.
Who to: Everyone except for those who have particular difficulty grasping concepts of any kind.

Zurich

Smee and I decided to go to Zurich at the last minute cos it was relatively cheap and close. It was not on my To-do list but at least it was away from the crowds and pollution that epitomise London.

We tried to find a guidebook on Zurich. No such luck at the library. We did a search on the Internet. Not much there that tickled my fancy either. We couldn't find much to 'do' in Zurich. In the end it didn't really matter as we didn't really feel like doing anything overly energetic anyway. Traveling is tiring! Oh, woe is me.

I dunno about everyone else, but Switzerland conjures up images of Lindt chocolate, Roger Federer and Martina Hingis in my head, with a dash of green mountainside and a sprinkling of Alps. The Sound of Music also springs to mind, even though the Von Trapps only arrive in the last scene of the movie.

Smee and I nearly missed our 7am flight when we both slept through our alarms to awake at 6am. Needless to say, there was a classic "OH F**K!!!!!!!!" Luckily our taxi was still waiting downstairs for us and the airport we were departing from was only a 10 minute drive. London City Airport rocks.

Switzerland doesn't use Euros which is somewhat annoying given that their Swissfrancs can't be used in any other country! Smee and I got lucky and found 10 SF on the ground as we entered the airport.

After checking in to our hotel, it was necessary to eat some food. Hamburgers with cocktail sauce (I think it was more Thousand Island to my tastebuds) go surprisingly well together! We also made it into a supermarket where I munched on a Kinder Surprise snack while Smee had another food battle.

The main shopping strip in Zurich was reminiscent of a longer Bourke St mall with it's trams running down the middle - erm, except they drive on the opposite side of the road. Also, above, the largest clockface in Europe.

Smee and I stayed on the 'funky' side of town, which also was the red light district. Ok, ok, I'm lying, we worked in the girly bars on the weekend.

I insist on being an embarrassing tourist wherever I go, hence eating the national food (whether the locals eat it or not) is one of my favourite pasttimes.

Smee's veal steak and rosti. Mmm mmm..

I highly doubt the Swiss actually eat fondue more than once a month. When you think about it, dipping bits of bread into melted cheese and eating that as an entire meal is quite gross. I have to admit, I did feel quite icky afterwards.

The next day began with a food battle. I love how the continental Europeans eat nice sausages.

A river cruise on Lake Zurich was next, where Smee had the luxury of kicking me out of photos.

Afterwards, it was a leisurely stroll back to the hotel before heading back to London.

Clockwise from left: Me insisting on posing with some touristy St. Bernard doggie. One more sausage for the road! I also fell in love with the Kinder Maxi King. It was kinda like a Maxibon covered in hazelnuts but instead of ice cream, there was a fluffy creamy centre. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm... I liked it so much, I bought four to bring back to London. Why am I writing about Kinder Surprise? It's not even Swiss!

It's coming.....

*sigh*

This is a horrible feeling.

After the worst Summer ever, it's apparent that London is not going to get another day above 20 degrees until next year. It's colder, greyer and getting darker sooner. I've never felt so cheated of a summer in my life. It's already dipping to the 14-15 degree mark. Admittedly, they've forecasted sun but that doesn't compensate if I have to wear a furry jacket outdoors.

I'm dreading the worst part - turning back our clocks. I do like the extra sleep but I don't like sun setting at 3-4pm.

I can already feel the depression kicking in.

Ok, I just had to whinge and get that off my chest.

Smee's Laksa

I was meant to post up these photos when Mooey was still around but kinda forgot about it. Smee is the master chef and he thought he'd give Mally a treat and cook her some laksa.

Smee saunters towards the stove.

Oh hello. Yes we cheated. The char siu was bought.

In goes the soup. Yummo!

Replicating C&R/Straits cafe in our dining room.

Hawker stall owner (and Mooey on the side)

Book Review: A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers

I want read this book long time. I saw in book shop. I think maybe very very interesting story. Is about Chinese girl, go England, study English. This story not too hard reading. I very quick reading finished. She every day go school, learn English. She meet man, then go to he's house. They live in he's house. She love him.

This book is written in first person whereby the Chinese protagonist's second language is English, hence the inappropriate grammar and vocabularly. Is the above paragraph annoying? Or somewhat endearing? I am leaning towards the former.

First, I'm going to ignore the content and examine the prose alone. It was a bit distracting and sometimes exaggerated but that in itself was not repulsive enough to stop me reading. After a while, I just went with the flow and it was barely noticeable.

Now - the content. Me no likey. It was impossible to identify with the main character. She was to put it plainly - a moron. Yes, yes, there is a coming-of-age component but her naivete was to the point of disbelief. I would have to also consider that her incorrect use of English amplified her unworldly views. Probably the effect the author desired. I couldn't tell if the author wanted us to like or dislike the protagonist. Possibly neither.

Let me tell you more about the main character and why she frustrated me. *spoilers ahead*

• She's 23-24 years old and has been sent over from China to develop her English skills in hope that it will assist in expanding her parent's shoe making factory. She meets a guy, 20-something years her senior and moves in with him after one week. ONE WEEK. They can barely have a conversation.

• She lives rent-free and lo and behold a sexual relationship begins and they kinda fall in love. I should say more correctly, she falls in love with him. He appears to have a strong homosexual past. She falls hard. Why? It beats me. There appears to be little else in common. He's vegetarian, she eats meat. She a student, he's a labourer. Their conversations are really just a basis for her to extend her English skills.

• He tires of her endless questions (ok that's bad on his end) and tells her to go off travelling in Europe. She goes but misses him dearly but she still goes on to have sex with a complete stranger within half an hour of meeting him. She stays at other random guy's houses. Within minutes of meeting a complete stranger, she follows him (it's only ever a male) off to wherever they're heading.

I'm all for 'loss of innocence' stories but she was so annoying. I need to slap some sense into her.

Also, the sexual descriptions were merely a unifying theme and I felt they were there to serve as a reminder that it is a book about 'lovers'. I didn't find them explicit but that isn't the point. Yes, yes, yes, it is a coming of age tale however, I do think that the story could have been just as good (if not better) sans the obligatory and commonplace addition of sexual scenes. I couldn't help but contemplate that such scenes, few as they were, were included to satisfy those who fetishise about the 'exotic orient'. Maybe I'm taking offence where no offence should be taken.

Alright, despite the criticism, I would still recommend people read this book. Don't let my dislike for the lead character put you off. Other book reviews consider her poignant and charming.

Content: 2 - 3
Readability: 1 (sometimes) - 2
Would I recommend this book: Err... yes?
To who: women who like soppy rubbish and are easily shocked. Only for the purpose of de-sensitising you. You know who you are.

Cafe East

I have made it a personal quest to find decent Vietnamese food in London. It is most certainly shameful here. It takes an Aussie to make acceptable pho and after reading this blog (written by a fellow Aussie), Smee and I thought we'd give Cafe East a try.

Cafe East is actually quite close to where we live. Much closer than Old St/Kingsland Rd, the traditional home of Viet food in London. Nestled on a street corner next to a decrepit store (I think, never been there during the day), it blends in nicely into the neighbourhood with it's minimal signage , yet manages to stick out sorely as the single Asian cuisine restaurant filled to the brim with a small queue outside. Admittedly the restaurant only seats about 20 at most (and the queue was only 2 ppl plus us), but I didn't see any other queues outside the kebab store or other small Asian restaurants nearby.

The other blog says that the restaurant is owned by a Brissie dude. Who is KOREAN. I don't care, he's probably not doing the majority of the cooking and when it comes down to it, if you can make decent pho, then you shall be my friend. But please don't put kim chi into it.

In a smart and economically advantageous move, they choose to only make a small number of dishes. This is probably their stongpoint - doing fewer dishes but doing them well. It keeps the locals coming back!

The herbs for our Pho. Smee ordered the rare beef one and I ordered the special (as always).

We also ordered the Banh Cuon. I haven't had this in years! Years I say! It was done very well, with the pork spiced to perfection and the fungus adding the nice crunch. Tasted just like home - Melbourne home that is, not Vietnam home.

Banh cuon and all the tidbits.

Now here's the dealbreaker - pho. I will say this. It seems that nowhere in London can you find anyone using fresh rice noodles in pho. Hence it will never compare to home. But this has to be the best pho soup stock in London so far. Better than Song Que, our other haunt.

Smee's rare beef.

My pho special was a little odd. I've never had prawns and chicken in it before and it was missing the tendons I so desire. But it still tasted fine.

Here's a shot before the herb addition. Necessary pictures.

Smee and I returned a few days later. Hahaha. No pictures this time, but I had the Bun Bo Hue which was lovely.

Despite the little things that I shall always gripe about, I have to say that I've found my new place for a pho fix.

For those who want to get there, the closest tube is Surrey Quays on the East London line. The number 47 bus from London Bridge goes past as well and drops you off closer.